Every Arkansan should have the opportunity to achieve their American dream, but such an achievement may look vastly different from person to person. While education consistently forms the foundation upon which success is built, the type of education matters.
The federal government has long favored institutions of higher education that put a hefty price tag on a four-year college degree. Evidence of such favoritism can be seen in the billions of dollars the government has poured into bloated, bureaucratic colleges and universities, including those that promote antisemitic and anti-American views.
For decades, Americans who want to enter the workforce after high school and pursue job training programs have been ignored and left behind. But not anymore. Thanks to President Trump and Republicans in Congress, things are changing in Washington and across the country.
The One Big Beautiful Bill took an essential step to right this wrong by expanding Pell Grants to cover short-term job training programs at accredited institutions. This expansion will benefit students enrolled in the many vocational, trade, and technical schools throughout Arkansas, enabling them to fill jobs that are in high demand throughout the state.
Students enrolled in these specialized institutions are often first introduced to their respective career fields — including cybersecurity, health sciences, industrial technology, manufacturing, and welding — through career and technical education programs offered in middle school and high school.
Recently, I had the honor of visiting Saline County Career and Technical Campus in Benton, Arkansas with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Programs, such as those offered at Saline County, provide the hands-on skills, tools, and knowledge students need to succeed in their future careers.
Throughout our tour, we saw the variety of opportunities and professional pathways available through career and technical education and discussed how these programs contribute to building up the local community.
While expanding Pell Grant eligibility and augmenting career and technical education programs are positive steps, we must do more to facilitate opportunities for job training programs and apprenticeships that lead to employment.
That’s why I plan to reintroduce the American Workforce Act this Congress to help working Americans — who opt out of a traditional four-year college — to get ahead with a new, bold workforce education strategy.
Paid for, in part, by levying taxes on wealthy private college endowments, my bill will provide training vouchers to cover the cost of employer-led workforce training programs.
Participating employers will have the flexibility to design and implement their own training programs or outsource training to a valid third-party entity, such as a community college, trade association, or union. Employers who hire trainees upon completion of the workforce training program will receive a $1,000 bonus, thereby strengthening the pipeline from education and training to gainful employment.
This employer-led, market-driven approach to workforce education enables business leaders on the cusp of new industries and on the precipice of new developments to identify and fill their employment needs with homegrown talent. With advancements in artificial intelligence and technology constantly disrupting the economy, employer-led training programs will foster a workforce that is more cost-effective and more responsive to new industry developments than expensive, bureaucratic institutions.
I’m committed to working with President Trump and alongside my Republican colleagues to usher in a golden age of innovation, industrial strength, and economic growth for America.
The American Workforce Act puts us even closer to achieving this goal on behalf of every hard-working American.
Editor’s note: U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is the author of this guest commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author.